Amour Ascenseur
by Lovely SOS
Summary: -Amy was sure she saw a moment of doubt or hesitation in his amber eyes. His amber eyes that, so long ago, had captivated her so much. "Of course I'm not." He said simply, and Amy's heart nearly stopped in her chest, because she thought something was seriously wrong. But then he added, his mouth twisting downwards in a frown, "I'm STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR." Dedicated to poptropica.1997


**A/N**

_This story is dedicated to the lovely _**poptropica.1997**_, winner of the '_It's Time!_' Contest-Contest._

_She came in first place with her one-shot _Unrequited Love_. (Which I highly suggest you read- it's hilarious.) As the winner, my dear_ **poptropica.1997** _was allowed to create the basis of a one-shot for me to write her. The idea of the story belongs to her- I just wrote it down. I hope you all enjoy it!_

**poptropica.1997**_'s requirements:_

_Write an Amian one-shot where Amy and Ian, ages 18, get stuck in an elevator that looks like the elevator from the movie Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief... I also had to incorporate something that's an inside joke between us- somehow, the topic of brown colored leaves must come up in conversation...which it does. The last requirement was, of course, a KISS. *12 year old 'ooh'ing*_

_Now, I hope you enjoy the one-shot! This is for you, _**Breadfish**_!_

***~*~*~*~Ian Kabra*~*~*~*~**

Ian Kabra checked his watch.

There really was no need for the action- he was always on time, and tonight would be no exception. He knew this.

But there was a party going on at L'hôtel Feuille Brun, a fancy French palace of a hotel, and the entire building was reserved for Cahills from all over the world- and so Ian thought he'd better check his watch anyway. Just in case.

Besides, he was the head of the entire Lucian branch. It would be rather un-respectable for him to show up late... well, he was co-head, if you bothered to include Ian's sister Natalie in the ruling, er, overseeing, of the branch. It was Ian that did most of the work. In his opinion, anyway... and he never seemed to stop working. Even now, at the party, he carried with him a black briefcase with documents and files and other boring but important business-y things.

Otherwise, he was impeccably dressed- as he usually was, but tonight, a bit more so than even the usual- in an expensive tuxedo suit with a black silk tie.

Ian stepped inside the building, the grandeur of it not fazing him. He flashed his Cahill ID card- it was a chip sort of thing that the Ekaterinas had invented, and even though Ian was quite a well-known Cahill figurehead, this was protocol. The young man that was scanning Cahill ID's gave Ian a respectful nod and waved him on, further into the building.

It seemed the party was already in swing, even though it had officially begun only moments before.

The floor and the walls of the building were a dark, classy shade of gray, with burnt umber shades of reds and browns scattered in the tiles. Every few paces there was a black tile with white flecks.

Ian stood still for a moment, watching the action on the first floor. As the entire hotel was rented out for this party- a simple Cahill get together that was a yearly annual occasion- there would be people everywhere, but right now, the entrance and lobby seemed a popular spot as friends met for the first time in ages. Already, streams of waiters and waitresses were streaming out of black swinging doors on the far side of the room, carrying trays piled with tall champagne glasses and little hors d'oeuvres.

Ian's eyes scanned the lobby.

At any moment now, he knew that he'd be spotted. He did have a recognizable face... and a very handsome one, at that. At any moment, there would be more than just a few Cahills clamoring for his attention, mostly female- but some males that were interested in gaining a higher spot in the Lucian hierarchy. Probably.

And Ian wasn't interested in any of those people.

No, he was interested in one person only. One person that would be at this party.

One of the only people that made his life worth living.

Ian moved lithely with his wide strides, his amber eyes still searching, when, by chance, they happened to meet the sight of that one person- whom he wasn't even sure he'd see at all tonight with so many people in the building. When he saw her, he found that his breath caught in his throat. That one person- that one person...

Amy Cahill.

She had reddish-brown hair, and it was her natural color, mind you. No, she did not dye it. It was her natural color. Ian wasn't one of those idiots who would ask her if she had... such a lovely color was natural, as was the shade of Amy's eyes- jade green, and incredibly piercing. At least, Ian found them to be. Because those eyes... they seemed to have some radar, some built-in way of seeing right through a person and knowing who they were on the inside, rather than whom they appeared to be.

Those eyes that managed to see the good in the lowliest of people.

Tonight, she was wearing a simple black dress, the hemline of which just brushed her knees. The neckline was demure and boring, without any pattern of any sort. The whole dress- plain. Simple. She appeared shy in this crowd... and her sense of style hadn't improved since the last time Ian had seen her. Or maybe it had, at least a little, because the dress did, at least, fit her figure somewhat. She wore green ballerina flats, while the women standing around her that were chatting and laughing all wore high heels and had diamonds dripping from their ears and had their makeup done.

Not Amy.

And yet, in her plain clothes, she was obviously the most beautiful girl in the room. No, in the building.

Or the world.

She was also dating Jake Rosenbloom.

-A young woman who was probably in her early twenties noticed Ian, and she stared without attempting to hide it. Ian nodded towards her politely, but disgust tugged at the inside of his stomach at her ogling. Ian saw her start towards him, and he wove through a small throng of people, towards Amy and away from the young woman. A few more heads turned his way.

Ian's pace quickened. A few more strides, and he would reach Amy.

The girl he was in love with.

A hand reached for Ian's shoulder, but missed by a few inches. Ian walked even faster. He wanted to call out Amy's name, but his throat couldn't form the words, couldn't force them out of his mouth.

Amy turned and began walking the opposite direction, not seeing Ian at all.

Ian cursed silently, not wanting to run after her, not wanting to draw more attention towards himself. But he couldn't let her go. He had to see her. Make sure her idiotic boyfriend was at the very least making her happy. Treating her right. Trailing after her, Ian noticed that Amy's dress wasn't boring after all- the back of the dress, below Amy's neck, had a small cutout below the button clasp.

The cutout was the shape of a heart.

Amy had reached the elevator, and she pressed the button going up.

The door to the elevator opened, and Ian reached Amy just when she stepped inside, and, his heart pounding, he straightened his posture and he slipped into the elevator just before the door closed. Amy was just pressing the button for the 4th floor when she noticed him, looking surprised. "Ian!" She said, and he knew she was probably wondering how he'd slipped into the elevator without her even noticing.

"Hello, Amy." Ian greeted her.

Amy's hand dropped away from the button panel. "Sorry," Amy murmured, and Ian noticed she wasn't looking him in the eye. "I didn't see you there. I guess we'll be going to the 4th floor." Ian watched her closely, stinging hurt building up in the space where his heart should have been. She seemed so casual. He did a bit of math in his head- he hadn't seen her in... three months? Well. And the last time he'd seen her, they'd barely spoken, because she was with her boyfriend, Jake. "How are you?" Amy asked suddenly, finally allowing her eyes to meet his. To his annoyance, she seemed concerned.

Ian could feel the elevator rising. "I'm... fine." Ian raised an eyebrow at her. "And how are you?"

Amy smiled, but it looked fake to Ian, which alarmed him. Amy always had been an awful actress. "I'm fine, too." She said. Ian's gaze on her hardened.

"You don't seem fine."

Amy's smile faltered. "W-what?"

"I said, you don't seem fine." Ian looked at her expectantly, and he realized that around his briefcase, his hands were turning to fists. "Is it your... Jake?" I swear to God, Ian thought. If he did something to her, I'll break his- "You know that I know that you're an awful liar, right?" Ian said, his eyebrow raised. Eyes wide, Amy stared at him.

"I... I don't want to talk about it." Amy said quietly. Her cheeks slightly pink, Amy turned away from him, waves of embarrassment, awkwardness at this strange encounter, and some hurt seeming to radiate off of her. "It's n-none of your business." Amy added, more to the wall then to Ian. Irrational anger bubbled inside of Ian when she said that. Jake- that little git, Ian thought. He'd always suspected that he was a creep. Jake HAD done something to Amy. He must have.

"God," Ian hissed, his hands still tightening on the handle of the suitcase. "What did he do to you?"

Suddenly, the elevator seemed to stop with a huge, jarring jolt.

Ian dropped his briefcase as the elevator shuddered, and he slammed into the wall when the elevator seemed to fall a few feet before stopping again. Amy screamed, taken by surprise as well. There was a loud noise as cogs and ropes and wires and the like screeched as the emergency break set into action. And then the noise quieted. Stunned, Ian stared at the doors of the elevator, his breath finally coming back to him.

The sudden movement had ended.

What had happened?

Ian realized that Amy was kneeling on the floor, looking shocked. Worry spiking his heart rate, he knelt down beside her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. He hated the way it was so obvious that he was worried; but that wouldn't matter if Amy really was hurt. "Are you alright?"

Amy stared for a moment more before slowly shaking her head. "I'm f-fine." She murmured. "Just... taken by surprise." Ian's fingers lingered at her shoulder before dropping away. He stood up and offered her his hand. After a tiny moment of hesitation- which he noticed very much- she took his hand and he helped her up, sparks shooting through his palm where their hands had been joined. "What happened?" Amy asked incredulously.

Ian couldn't feel the elevator moving anymore. He kicked the doors, as if that would do some good. He shook his head. "The elevator stopped." His lips curled.  
"Some 5 star hotel this is." Leaning forward, he placed an ear against the door, hoping to hear the sounds of people. But instead he heard nothing- they must have been between two floors, which would probably make it impossible for anyone to hear him and Amy with yelling alone. Ian cursed.

Amy stared up in horror as the overhead lights flickered. If the lights went out, it would be pitch black in the box.

Ian pulled out his cellphone. "I'll call someone." He said. He tapped the touch screen of his cellphone, but it seemed unresponsive. Ian frowned. He tried again, but the phone wouldn't respond. Growling, Ian turned the phone off and then on again, but the screen was blank white- and then flickered off again. Holding the phone up close to his eyes, he noticed a hairline crack running down the screen.

His phone had been in his pocket when he'd slammed against the wall.

Dropping his phone in disgust, Ian turned to Amy, who looked surprised as his phone clattered on the floor. "My phone broke- it must have hit the wall." Ian explained. This was such rotten luck- yes, he'd wanted to see Amy. Desperately. But not like this. Not trapped in an elevator. Especially when it seemed so evident that she didn't want to be around him. "Do you have yours?" Ian asked her, his tone slightly impatient. He rather was in a hurry to get out. He had things to attend to.

Ian watched Amy's face turn slightly pink. "No." Amy mumbled. "My dress doesn't have pockets. My phone is downstairs in my bag."

Ian wished he were in a situation where he could better enjoy the beautiful blush spreading across her cheeks. Silently cursing once more, Ian brushed past her in the confined space, running a finger over the button control panel. He pressed a few buttons, but nothing happened. The lights flickered some more. Ian pressed the call button, which was for emergencies.

Nothing happened.

"Someone will find us." Amy reasoned aloud, probably noting Ian's sour expression. She sounded nervous to him, though. Ian pressed the call button a few more times, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw Amy roll hers. "Ian, you only need to press it once. The hotel will probably need to call maintenance." Ian was surprised to feel Amy's hand on his shoulder. "Relax," Amy said soothingly. "We'll be fine."

Ian hesitated, then stepped away from the elevator buttons, feeling slightly sheepish, which he hated. Amy was right, of course. But why did she have to tease him like that? By placing her hand on his shoulder? Ian stared grumpily at the doors. Suddenly, he remembered what they'd been talking about before the elevator's sudden stop. Maybe being stuck in here wasn't so bad.

Because at least he was stuck with his favorite person, and it wasn't as if she could try to run away from his questions.

Amy was startled when Ian suddenly whirled around to face her, his eyes blazing. "Amy, what did Jake do to you?"

Amy's face paled, and she backed up a step so that her back brushed the walls of the elevator. "Nothing, Ian." Amy said, sounding slightly mad. "Alright? It has nothing to do with you. Why do you even care?"

Why do you even care? The sentence echoed around in Ian's head. He stared at her. Because I'm madly in love with you, he thought. Aloud, he said, "Because if Jake did something to you, I _will_ kill him. And that's a promise." Ian hesitated, but he sat down on the floor of the elevator. He patted the floor beside him, trying to ignore the fact that he was sitting where a hundred different people stood in one day. And who knew where their shoes had been? "Tell me," he urged.

Amy shot Ian a look that he read as hatred, his heart sinking in his chest. "Fine." Amy snapped towards him. "You really want to know what happened? We broke up. Okay?" Amy sank down, pressing herself against the wall, as far away from Ian as she could get. Ian suddenly noticed that her eyes seemed a bit puffy and just slightly pink, and they seemed to become watery now as they spoke.

So, Amy had been crying a lot lately.

They'd broken up.

Immediately, half of Ian was roaring in selfish happiness. He'd never imagined they would break up. Never. He'd subjected himself to a life where he watched the girl he was in love with hang off the arm of some guy who didn't deserve her. He'd gotten used to it, even if he hated it. He'd seen the way Amy looked at Jake, and he'd certainly seen the way Jake looked at Amy. But he wasn't good enough for her.

Nobody was.

And that included himself, Ian Kabra- but he didn't really care, and so he always wished for the impossible because he was trapped, a little bit more in love with her every time he heard her name or saw her or even when he thought of her.

They'd broken up. Amy Cahill and Jake Rosenbloom. They'd broken up.

Oh, God. Amy was crying. Well, almost. She seemed to be fighting off tears, and she was doing her best not to let Ian see her doing so. But of course he saw anyway in their small area of space.

Ian moved closer to Amy, feeling awkward. He was supposed to be smooth and suave...Amy did always seemed to mess with his head. Unfortunately. "Amy?" Ian asked as gently as he could, though he silently thought his voice was still too rough. "Are you alright?" The thought popped into Ian's head that they hadn't really had a real conversation in a very long time. Ian didn't hang around so much anymore. Not since the fall of the Vespers and the Cahills weren't forced to be so tightly knitted together.

And not with Jake around.

Instead, Ian buried himself in the work of being the head of the Lucian branch. He tried to spend some time with Natalie, because he'd come to miss her quite a bit when she'd been a hostage, and the two had grown closer since. He was busy all the time, and he was always torn between wanting to see Amy Cahill, which felt so good, and wanting to stay far away from her as possible, because in his head it would hurt less than going to see her when she was with Jake.

"...No." Amy whispered. Ian's eyes widened in alarm as tears began to flow down her cheeks. "I b-broke up with him. And I don't t-think that was the right thing to d-do." Amy buried her face in her hands. Ian felt a selfish twinge of satisfaction. _Amy_ had broken up with Jake.

Ian began fixing himself to bite back his happiness before responding, but he found he didn't need to. When he looked at her and she seemed so miserable... his joy faded.

"Why did you break up with him?" Ian asked calmly.

A sudden fierceness flashed in Amy's eyes, surprising him. "That's my business," she said quietly but seriously. Ian hesitated, incredibly curious, but he nodded, not willing to press the subject. At least, not right now. "I just... don't think I m-made the right decision." Amy quickly wiped away a tear from her cheek, looking unhappy with her situation and herself for crying. "What am I supposed to do?" Amy whispered, more to herself than to Ian.

Ian was careful when he answered her. "Well...you'll need to think about it." He cautioned, trying to keep his tone light. He was aching to badmouth Jake, but he'd never realistically imagined _himself_ with Amy, so would it really be so bad to have Amy with someone else? Someone that made her happy? ...The answer was yes, it would be bad, but only to Ian. Everyone else would be happy. Amy would be happy. "You need to reconsider your reasons for breaking up with him. Do they outweigh you wanting...to get back together with him?"

For a long time, or at least, it felt like quite a long time, she was quiet, and whenever Ian snuck a glance at her, her eyes looked dull. That made him feel irritated. She had lovely eyes, but right now they seemed lifeless and flat, because of someone like _Jake Rosenbloom_.

While Ian waited for a response from Amy, his eyes finally seemed to take note of what the box they were trapped in looked like. The walls were made of marble, with shades of red and brown throughout the overall shade of gray. There were black columns on the walls at the corners of the elevator, and a thin square of gold, like a frame, served as the only decoration besides a black shape that was rather impressively made to look like the shape of the hotel itself. The elevator was big enough, but in the end, it was still an elevator.

Which meant there wasn't so much space.

At least the lights seemed to have stopped flickering.

Ian sighed, growing tired of Amy's tiny sniffles. She hadn't answered his question- it seemed he had given her a lot to think about. His eyes rested on her, and he asked, "Come to any conclusions yet?"

Amy shot him a look, and the power behind her gaze momentarily made him feel as if he were frozen. She always surprised him in this manor. She had a kind of inner-strength that he couldn't explain, would never have himself, and didn't understand in the slightest. Crying didn't mean you were weak, it seemed, contrary to what he might have previously believed. Despite her teary eyes, he felt as though her gaze held some power that he could never match and that she didn't even realize she had.

"Maybe." Amy said, without flinching.

He'd been in love with her for some time now, and, looking at her now, he felt as though he knew what she might be thinking.

***~*~*~*~Amy Cahill*~*~*~*~**

Amy felt exhausted.

To be perfectly honest, she hadn't done much of anything today that would physically make her tired. Even her Cahill-level workout had been put off this morning on account of party plans.

She was more tired mentally.

She'd broken it off with Jake. After all this time. And before the words had left her mouth, she'd felt so sure about it. That it was the right thing to do...yet after she'd done it, she'd fallen to pieces all over again, hating her decision, stuck in an elevator with Ian Kabra...

...but it was Ian who had just made her realize that she hadn't made the wrong choice by calling it Splitsville with Jake.

That didn't make breaking up hurt any less, though.

It had started out small- the things leading up to their end in a relationship. And what made it worse was that Jake just didn't get it. He didn't get how important Amy's past was to her- he was a move-on kind of guy, but Amy didn't _want_ to forget anything she'd experienced. It was all a part of her now, and when Jake had left for college, he'd become so far away from her...

Amy felt for a micosecond like she was crumbling away. No matter how much she'd thought she'd been in love with Jake, too much of that had been an illusion, and it had to end sooner or later. Amy caught herself- No, she thought. I can't act like this. It was silly for her, the leader of the Madrigals, to be hung up on a boy.

Even a boy she had been in love with.

Ian's question rang in her ears- did her reasons for leaving Jake outweigh her reasons for wanting him back? Sadly, they did, and she pushed away the image of Jake's face, filled with confusion, as she'd cut their tie...

"Thank you." Amy said suddenly to Ian, the words spilling out of her mouth, bringing her back to the present. Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest. "I...needed to hear that, I guess." She tentatively looked at him, and he was looking quietly at the closed elevator doors. He nodded ever so slightly in response, and Amy leaned back against the wall, sighing. Her eyes had an uncomfortable sticky aftereffect from crying, and she felt a wave of embarrassment over the fact that she'd cried in front of Ian at all. He must think she was absurd.

This wasn't where Amy wanted to be. She'd been having doubts about the Jake thing, and even though she was quietly grateful to Ian for the simple question he'd posed, she didn't want to be stuck in here with him for a prolonged period of time... Amy glanced at him from the corner of her eye, feeling uneasy. All of the sudden, she felt like she didn't know him at all. They hadn't spoken to each other very much lately.

Or really, at all since she'd begun dating Jake.

Amy wondered why that was. She imagined Ian was very busy, the main leader of the Lucians. From what Amy could tell, he always seemed to be working. She noticed now that he had a briefcase with him. She frowned. He'd brought a case full of work to one of the only real all-work-off day in a year for the Cahills...?

Like water slowly running to form a pool, Amy begun to notice that Ian seemed...sad.

Or maybe that wasn't the right word for it? But he was almost unusually reserved now, and completely still. Amy found that even after all of this time, his amber eyes still made her heart skip a beat or four, and that always made her blush. As they sat and waited for some kind of help, the minutes were ticking by slowly, and Amy felt cramped even though there was more than enough room to stretch out her legs.

Deciding not to try and hide her gaze anymore, Amy tried to catch Ian's eye, a little bit worried for him now. What could be wrong with him? He looked so far away, and he'd been nice enough to help her when she was being ridiculous and embarrassing herself over Jake. Oops, don't think about Jake, Amy thought, staring at Ian. For whatever reason, he'd been nice enough to calm her down, and now she wanted to pay him back with a favor. If there was something on his mind, she would be willing to listen. If she could get him to open up. But what _was_ the problem?

Amy was startled when he suddenly turned to look at her, asking with annoyed tones in his voice, "Is there an actual reason behind your staring?"

Amy could feel her cheeks turning red. Maybe THIS is why I haven't talked to him in a while! she thought, slightly annoyed herself. "Actually," she pushed out through gritted teeth, "I was about to ask _you_ if _you're_ alright."

Ian raised an eyebrow towards her, as if he were surprised that anyone would ever ask him that question. Amy was sure she saw a moment of doubt or hesitation in his amber eyes. His amber eyes that, so long ago, had captivated her almost more than anything else ever had. "Of course I'm not." He said simply, and Amy's heart nearly stopped in her chest, because she thought something was seriously wrong. But then he added, his mouth twisting downwards in a frown, "I'm _stuck in an elevator._"

Amy sighed, and she wished she was wearing pants so that she could assume her usual position of defense- hugging knees that were pulled in towards her chest.

"I can't fix that for you." She pointed out, her eyes meeting his once more. His gaze was as burning as it usually was, and she thought he would say something back to her, but he didn't. He just stared. Amy felt a pit opening in her stomach, and her mouth felt dry. His eyes always managed to pin her in place.

"...Right." He said finally, his gaze sliding away from her.

Amy felt her shoulders slump with relief that he was no longer looking at her. But as soon as he looked away, she could see it again- that far away look on his features. It was nagging at her; she was certain now there was something on his mind, and she wanted to know what it was. She wondered if it was something superficial, like the fact that he was missing the party while they awaited someone seeing their signals of distress. But that didn't seem right. No, not Ian. He didn't seem very social anymore, whenever Amy saw him. And he HAD brought along his work, as if he would be doing that tonight rather than mingling.

Biting her lip and summoning up her courage, Amy moved a little closer to Ian. Maybe I've been... ignoring him, Amy thought, shocked with herself. Ian probably didn't care at all, but now that Amy had thought that, she couldn't get it out of her head. She _had_ been busy since the downfall of the Vespers- and a lot of her time she had spent with Jake. Maybe she needed to get her head out of the clouds and start being more social with her extended Cahill family.

Since she was stuck in an elevator with Ian, she'd start with him. And maybe she'd even find out what was on his mind.

"What?" Ian asked her, noticing her moving closer. He sounded so annoyed, and she hadn't even done anything. Amy bit off a retort, instead asking, with the hint of a sigh mixed in with her words,

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?" Technically, he had said he wasn't before. But he'd said he wasn't because of being trapped in an elevator- when in truth, Amy was realizing he'd had a dark glint in his eyes from the very moment they'd first stepped into the box.

Ian pulled a subject change.

"L'hôtel Feuille Brun." He said. "The Brown Leaf Hotel."

Amy frowned. "What?" She asked.

"That's what this place is called." Ian said with a bored shrug. "The Brown Leaf Hotel."

Amy's eyes narrowed slightly. He was just avoiding her question. Neither of them spoke for a moment, but again, Amy gathered up her courage. "We haven't talked a lot recently." She commented quietly, chewing on her lower lip and not caring very much about leaves that were brown. Carefully, she added, "Why is that?" She was already beginning to believe that it was her fault, and that made her feel bad, but she posed the question anyway, hoping to hear his answer.

She was surprised when he answered back in a bitter, biting tone- moments ago his voice had seemed bored and uncaring, and she assumed he'd answer now in that same tone of voice.

"Because you spent all your time with Jake, " he hissed pointedly, staring at the elevator doors. "It's not like you came after me when I stopped showing up around you." Amy stared at him, shocked. At the mention of Jake's name, Amy felt her heart ripping in her chest. She was convinced she wasn't meant to be with him, but that didn't make things hurt less. Why did Ian even care? Why would he say that? A fiery, angry retort was boiling in Amy's stomach, but she couldn't get her mouth to form the words. Ian's gaze flickered over hers and his angry expression melted off of his face immediately. "...Sorry." He muttered. "I shouldn't have said that."

When he said sorry, the fiery feeling in Amy's stomach seemed to dissipate. "No," she whispered, still utterly surprised by Ian's response, "You're... you're right." She DID spend too much time with Jake. Or rather, she _had_ spent too much time with him.

Ian's eyes sparked, and he shook his head. "No, I shouldn't have said it." His voice retook the calmer tone he'd had earlier- only now it was edged with boldness. It sank into more of a quiet murmur, though, with his next words- "It's just hard to see you with him."

Amy's eyes widened, and she wasn't sure she'd heard him correctly. "W-what?"

Ian just repeated himself, no falters in his accented words. His voice was almost icy. "I _said_, it's hard to see you with him."

"Why?" Amy asked him, completely confused.

Ian looked at her skeptically, and Amy felt like the look on his face was demeaning. "Really, Amy? Really?" He asked her. "That was a serious question?" He added on. When she didn't have a reply for him, her cheeks beginning to heat up, he rolled his eyes and sighed. Amy chewed her lip some more, confused. This seemed to catch Ian's eye, and he frowned. "Don't do that," he muttered.

"Do what?" Amy muttered back, her front teeth still nervously digging into her lower lip. Ian was confusing her and making her feel uncomfortable. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Why was he so confusing? Noticing how close she was to Ian, an image of Jake suddenly popped into Amy's head, making her heart sting. She didn't want to think about him. Or maybe she did, for some closure- but not here and not now. Amy looked away from Ian. She flinched in surprise when she felt his warm hand on her cheek.

"Bite your lip like that." Ian responded. His light touch hadn't moved away from her face. "You'll make a mess of yourself." His fingertips just barely brushed her lips, making her freeze completely. In that moment, she swore that even her heart wasn't beating in her chest. She was frozen solid, not even daring to breathe.

Either Amy's eyes were playing tricks on her, or the light overhead had begun flickering again. Ian didn't seem to notice, though, his eyes locked on hers. He was leaning in and Amy realized that she was, too- she wasn't as frozen as she'd believed herself to be.

His lips were warm and kissing him felt different from kissing Jake. Kissing Jake had always felt kind of safe to Amy. She had a lot of weight on her shoulders, being the head of the Madrigals, but when she was around Jake, she'd always felt like he was there to help her lift that weight. There had been a connection between them- a real one. Amy believed that. Then Jake had gone away to college...

But kissing Ian was different.

The kiss was slow and gentle. In the back of Amy's mind, she searched for the feeling of guilt- but she couldn't find it. She and Jake were officially done. And that would take getting used to- a lot of getting used to, actually- but the same thought kept replaying in her head: that she was right to end that where she had. She'd been growing secretly unhappy, so letting Jake go was the right thing to do.

As slow and careful as this kiss was, it felt electric to Amy, like there were suddenly sparks in her veins. Her eyes closed and there was nothing anymore- nothing, nothing except for Ian and feelings rolling off of him in waves, feelings passing from his lips to hers. Some huge secret feeling she couldn't quite fully comprehend.

And then there were real sparks- shooting out from the light fixture overhead.

With a huge start, Amy sprang away from Ian, startled, looking up- and then the lights burnt out completely.

Amy's heart pounded insanely hard in her chest. She was trapped in an elevator, she'd kissed Ian Kabra- and now it was pitch black. Amy squinted. No, not pitch black, she could see cracks of light coming in from the elevator doors. But she couldn't see Ian. Her hands nervously fiddled with the hem of her dress, her heart pounding so loud she swore the people upstairs at the party could hear it.

Feeling Ian's hand brush her knee, Amy imagined she'd nearly hit her head on the ceiling, she jumped so high. "OH! You sc-scared me!" She hissed, her cheeks hot with a rushed, crushing amount of embarrassment. Maybe it was better that Ian couldn't see her. God, he'd KISSED her. Or rather, she thought, her cheeks burning even more now, they'd kissed each other- leaning in at the same moment. "W-what just happened?" Amy mumbled.

Ian's voice answered her, close to her ear- she could feel his warm breath on her cheek. "Do you mean the lights," he asked, his voice unfailingly smooth, "-or... us?" Amy felt like there was a pressure in her head that just kept rising. What if she just blew up or something? ...In that moment, she just wanted to be out of that elevator. And she wanted that more than she wanted anything else in the world. "Well?" Ian asked her calmly. Amy gritted her teeth for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut. Her head was swimming in confusion. When she opened her eyes, it was just as black as it had been when her eyes were closed.

"Both," she muttered finally.

Ian said nothing for a long moment. And when he spoke, he indeed only answered one question. "What happened was that I kissed you."

Amy felt her chest tightening. An annoying voice in the back of Amy's mind was definitely yelling that they _had_ kissed each other, and it hadn't been just him- but Amy was fine with him taking the blame. In the darkness, as if Ian could still see her blushing, she covered her face with her hands. "Why?" She whispered.

Ian let out to be what a bewildered Amy thought was an amused sort of huff. Amy felt his hand again, this time carefully searching for hers. His hand met her wrist and gently pulled her hand away from her face and into his hand. Electricity raced up her arm, her eyes wide in the almost pitch black, but she couldn't see him. Just feel his hand in hers and hear the sound of his voice. "Because." Ian said, the answer to her newest question. "I've been in love with you for quite some time now." He paused. "A rather annoying inconvenience." Love? _What?_ ...Inconvenience?! "I never thought I'd say that out loud." Ian added, his quiet tone with a subtle edge of thoughtfulness.

Amy was drowning, but there wasn't any water.

It was so much to take in all at once- like a giant ocean wave bearing down on her. Breaking up with Jake- and this. _THIS._ Whatever... whatever this was.

The stupid memory of Ian's betrayal in Korea popped into Amy's head, but it was almost immediately replaced with the feelings she'd felt kissing him only moments ago. That _secret_ feeling she'd gotten from kissing him, the shivers down her spine- and she felt raw, as if she'd just crawled ashore after days of drifting out at sea. And she knew he meant it.

He was in love with her, and he was a thousand times more in love with her than Jake Rosenbloom had ever been.

Before Amy even knew what she was doing, she'd launched herself at him, rather ungracefully wrapping her arms tightly around him in the dark, her weight throwing him somewhat off balance so that he went backwards half a foot, making him let out an "Ooof" of surprised pain as his back collided with the wall of the elevator. Embarrassment at her own stupidity made Amy bite her tongue until she could feel it bleeding. She hastily unwrapped herself from him, hating herself for throwing her arms around him in such an undignified manner.

But she just hadn't been expecting that.

That... love. From him.

"Are you okay?" Amy squeaked, trying to make room for him to get up.

Ian shuffled a bit and Amy's eyes had finally adjusted to the dark a little, so she could see his shape now, sitting up. "I would be better," he said, sounding a bit miffed, "-if you hadn't tackled me."

A fresh flood of color spread across Amy's cheeks. "I'm sorry, I... I just..." Being much more careful this time, Amy dared to lean forward and try again, wrapping her arms around his neck. She wondered if he could feel the heat of her embarrassment radiating off of her.

It only took a split second for him to react, but Amy liked the way he reacted- responding almost automatically in his moving to bring her closer, as if he'd been made to fit perfectly with her. He was in love with her. And she didn't know that she was in love with him, exactly- Jake's face was a little haunting in her mind. But it felt like now she knew what road she was going down, even if she hadn't expected this, not in a million years. This was it- this was something that felt as close to perfect as you could get in your time on earth, and she was stuck in a dark elevator.

But she was with Ian. It _was_ perfect.

"Maybe it's not so inconvenient to love you," Ian whispered, his tone revealing how much he wanted this, and Amy laughed into his suit.

And they stayed that way until the maintenance crew finally got them out.

**A/N**

_xD_

_I hope you guys liked it!_

_The title is literally 'love elevator' in French. xD xD xD_

_Please _**review**_ with any constructive criticism you might have, and remember to give _**poptropica.1997**_ a rousing round of applause. _

_~Lovely_


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